Following forest guards in Vietnam on a mission to save the saola

A week in the life of a forest patrol guard, fighting illegal hunting in the Saola Nature Reserves.

The biggest threat to the Critically Endangered Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), an endemic species to Laos and Vietnam, is hunting, as saolas get caught as by-catch in snares set by local people for other animals.

Under this SOS-funded project, locally employed forest guards who have undertaken intensive training with WWF conduct regular patrols inside the Saola Nature Reserves in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam provinces, where hunting is illegal. They focus on removing snares and dismantling camps used by poachers, also intercepting illegal hunters and loggers when possible.